CNEM Wants Review of Nigeria’s Political Equation
Nigeria at 60
Denen Achussah
Coalition of Nigeria’s Ethnic Minorities (CNEM) has emerged ahead of Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary, with a call for the review of political power and economic development in Nigeria.
National Coordinator of CNEM, Dr. Bem Ugoh, said it has become necessary to review issues of political power and economic development in the country to ensure fair play, equity and justice to all major stakeholders of the Nigerian project.
CNEM, according to Dr. Ugoh is a conscious effort at reawakening the Nigerian minorities, who he said are fundamental drivers of Nigerian political revolution.
While denying that the coalition stands for disintegration of the country, Dr. Ugoh noted that time has come to reinforce the struggles of the late JS Tarka, Solomon Lar, Clement Isong, Melford Okilo, Isaac Boro and fashion out ways that will ensure fair play and justice.
“Nigeria has obviously reached a more defining moment in her transformational history where issues of political power and economic development must be reviewed to ensure fair play, equity and justice to all major stakeholders of the Nigerian project, hence the need to create this group.
“The idea of dissolving the northern hegemonic association is now. We have to reinforce the struggles of the Tarkas, Lars, Patrick Dokatri, Isaac Boro; what they stood for. We are not for disintegration,” Dr. Ugoh said.
He explained that CNEM is “organising a coalition of Nigerian ethnic minorities to aggregate the interest of the minorities who are fourth force and whose galvanised interest is far more in democracy above the three major groups put together,” insisting that “the minorities have remained the rallying point for Nigeria political evolution.”
According to the CNEM National Coordinator, under the defunct parliamentary system, minorities provided the threshold for a credible opposition and provided the synergy for integration which gave impetus to the northern region at the return to Presidential system in 1979.
“More recently, it was at the instance of the minorities that cooperation between the north and the south west was facilitated, which led to the victory of APC (All Progressives Congress) in 2015 and 2019.
“In the emerging Nigeria, it also behooves on the same minorities to aggregate their interest in order to facilitate power restructuring; align forces because the minorities have the population and the potential to change the power structure in Nigeria’s evolving demography through feasible alignments and realignments.
“This is more so because they have a common history of marginalisation, discrimination and deprivation, which make a common point of reconciliation in their diversities,” he explained.
He hinted that a national dialogue of ethnic minorities across the country will be held in the first quarter of 2021, with its composition defined by respective ethnic nationalities in order to dialogue and to chart the way forward.
“We believe that it is this defining moment that will liberalise Nigerian democracy. We will also use it to de-monopolise power. The main objective is to realign forces in the interest of a fair, equitable and justifiable Nigeria for all Nigerians,” Dr. Ugoh said.
He is of the view that Nigerian minority ethnic nationalities have not had a fair share in the leadership patronage of this country. They have been mere facilitators of civilian governance. What we are talking about is that it’s the strength of the minorities that will be used as a defining factor for true federalism where all the components will be recognised in fairness and equity.
Dr. Ugoh is concerned that all the regions in the country, where minorities are found “are facing critical cases of unrest, insecurity and seemingly starvation including environmental degradation. Interestingly, these are the three (south south, north central and north east) regions that command the highest level of resource endowment.”
